PORTLAND, Maine — After members of the U.S. Congress voted to pass a bill that would potentially ban the popular app TikTok, Mainers are weighing in.
The larger foreign aid bill contained legislation to force the platform's parent company ByteDance to sell its stake within a year of passing. TikTok has amassed more than 150 million users in America, many of which are Mainers.
"I feel like I heard about it a couple of months back, and I really thought it was no big deal," Jasmine Doncet Hall said, a Mainer who runs the account @jasminealexius.
Doncet Hall started interacting on the app during a dark time when she was dealing with mental health struggles. After finding others in the same boat, she said she felt seen in a way she hadn't on any other platform and afterward started to return the favor, by creating similar videos.
"I was alone, and so TikTok came and it took my world by storm," Doncet Hall said. "It's really not fair, especially to the people that have built an entire life on this platform and just thrived. It's just given me a purpose."
Like Doncet Hall, many TikTokers use the platform to generate income or promote small businesses. Dmitry Pepper, who runs the account @mistermainer, relies on his account for his full income.
"Last year when I first saw [the bill], it was actually really upsetting," Dmitry said. "It felt like they're taking away what I love to do."
Maine representatives and US leaders have expressed the proposal is not to take away or "ban" the app, but instead to protect American users' data. Both U.S. Representatives Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree voted in support of the larger foreign aid bill.
In a statement to NEWS CENTER Maine, Rep. Golden said:
"TikTok and its users are dangerously exposed to the Chinese communist government, and that exposure creates a national security threat that America cannot tolerate," Golden said. "In this Congress, you don’t get 360 votes for very many pieces of legislation. The overwhelming, bipartisan support for this measure shows the gravity of the threat."
Also in a statement on her decision to vote yes, Rep. Pingree said:
"When used responsibly, TikTok can be a great source for knowledge, laughter, and creativity — and I understand why millions of Americans use and love the app. The threats TikTok poses to our national security and to users’ privacy, however, cannot be ignored."
As the bill now heads to the Senate for a vote, Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement to NEWS CENTER Maine on the proposal:
"Millions of Americans enjoy TikTok and use it on a daily basis. The Chinese government’s control over the company owning TikTok, however, is a threat to the app’s users and our national security. Therefore, I support requiring a change in ownership of TikTok."